>1 Year Stored in Garage

[chaotic680]

I want to take my 2015 FZ-07 out for a ride before it gets too cold this year, but the bike's been stored in the garage since my last ride in July 2021 - we had a baby and I ended up taking a break. What should I check / do to make sure the bike is safe?

Last time it had an oil change (and filter) was May 2021. It's been on a trickle charger in the garage with the back wheel off the ground (on a rear stand). The chain was cleaned after the last ride and I started the bike once a few months ago to hear the Akrapovic one more time. Tires are maybe 3 years old but have a healthy amount of tread on them. 

If it were up to me, I'd lube up the chain, ride it to the gas station, put some air in the tires, and top off the gas before going on the ride. Then it'd probably sit in the garage again for another year (maybe I'll get another ride out of it this month).

I'm not too mechanically inclined and typically take it to the shop for an oil change/tune up each year (except 2022). 

What I think the correct answer is, is that I should change the oil, "inspect the fluids" (not sure what that would mean exactly), and that the gas might be too old (not sure what to do about that other than ride it out).

So, anything I must do or should do this weekend? Anything I can do to store it properly until next year's ride?

[sweetscience]

Hi!  I'm a seasonal rider also, and you did a lot of things right for long term storage.  Did you use fuel stabilizer before storage?  If I was to store the bike for 6 months or longer, I would have drained the gas tank empty. Or the easier option is to fill up with fresh ethanol free gas and add fuel stabilizer like Sta-bil.  After that, run the bike briefly  to allow the treated gasoline to run through the fueling system. 

Because gasoline degrades rapidly, old gas could cause starting or running issues.  Also, filling the tank for storage prevents condensation and water accumulation.

If you could get a front paddock stand, that could help with front tyre flat spot, but it usually fixes itself.  Again at 6 months or longer storage, I'd prop it on both paddock stands.

Tyre pressure gauges are affordable and should be used regularly.  A mini portable air compressor is another must have, or a simple bicycle pump will suffice, but requires more elbow grease.  Spring for a more pricy tyre pressure gauge that come with a long reach hose built in to easily see the gauge face reading and provides better reach to the tyre valves.   Tyres should be checked BEFORE you go for the ride.  Ambient (cold) tyre pressure will change as you ride the bike and the tyre heats up.  Your tyre pressure will read higher now that the air temperature in the tyre is warmer.  How far is the gas station?  Checking tyre pressures at ambient (cold) air temperature gets you the correct PSI as recommended by Yamaha.  Commonly called "cold" tyre pressure. 

I found with my MT, I typically lose about 1 PSI of air pressure in my tyres more or less every 2 weeks.

I would change the oil and filter, but that's your call.  If you're gonna send it to a garage for service, have them change the oil and filter,  flush the gas, and check for rust in the tank.  If the gas level was less than half full upon storage, who knows how much water has accumulated in there.

This is all outlined in the owner's manual.

Happy trails!  

[chaotic680]

Super helpful, thank you!

The tank was mostly full but I didn't add fuel stabilizer (kept thinking I'd take it out for one more ride) - will definitely put some in there this time. Going to look into getting a front paddock stand and mini portable air compressor. The gas station is just over a mile away, I always thought I was close enough to still get a cold tyre pressure reading, but the air compressor solution sounds easy. 

How do you drain a gas tank empty? Didn't know you could do that, I've got some googling to do. Thanks for the detailed answer, once again - super helpful!

[sweetscience]

A siphon pump can be used to remove the gasoline.  An mechanic's inspection camera/probe (borescope) will let you see the interior of the tank.  But will be difficult  to see the top side of the tank due to the small sized filler neck.

To see the tank's entire interior, however, ya gotta remove it from the bike, then remove the fuel pump.  At this stage, there's the opportunity to examine the condition of the fuel filter.  New gaskets will be needed for assembly.

I think it should be OK in the rust department or lack thereof.  Because it was stored with a nearly full tank.

There's a PDF of the service manual floating around.  Not sure where, hardcopy's what I prefer.